The Underline is a 10-mile linear park being developed in

Miami-Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous county in ...

. When complete, it will run underneath the county's elevated

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...

system from the Miami River near

Brickell Brickell ( ) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida located directly east of Interstate 95, south of the historic CBD, and north of Coconut Grove. Brickell is known as the financial district in Miami, as well as South Florida. Brickell was founded ...

to the Metrorail's southern terminus at Dadeland South. The project is essentially upgrading a pre-existing bike path, known as the M-Path, into a full linear park. As of 2022, the first phase of the Underline is complete in the Brickell area. The second phase, which will run from Brickell to just south of

Vizcaya station Vizcaya station is a station on the Metrorail rapid transit service station in The Roads neighborhood of Miami, Florida. The station is located near the intersection of Southwest First Avenue and 32nd Road, at the southern terminus of I-95 at So ...

, is set to be complete in December 2023. The full park will be complete in fall of 2026.

Route

Brickell station exercise park and M-Path sign

The Underline begins at the Miami River in the

neighborhood of Downtown

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. At the river, it connects to the Miami River Greenway. From here, it runs south underneath the Metrorail through Brickell, Coral Gables, and Kendall, where it will end at the

Dadeland South station Dadeland South station is a transfer station on the Metrorail rapid transit system in the Dadeland district of Kendall, Florida. It is the southern terminus of the Metrorail system and the northern terminus of the South Dade TransitWay (a BRT ...

. At Dadeland South, the Underline is planned to connect with the proposed Ludlam Trail

linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and shorelines. Examples of linear p ...

. It will also connect with the

South Dade Rail Trail The South Dade Rail Trail (SDRT) is a rail trail, run by Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation, that follows the old Florida East Coast Railway rail corridor for 20.5 miles, from Miami to Homestead in South Florida, traversing a diversity of urba ...

beyond Dadeland South, which runs along the South Dade rapid transit busway (also former Florida East Coast Railway right of way) all the way to

Florida City Florida City is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is the southernmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area. Florida City is primarily a Miami suburb and a major agricultural area. As of the 2020 census, it h ...

. Together, the two paths form a continuous off-road trail for pedestrians and cyclists. Both trails are part of the ambitious

East Coast Greenway The East Coast Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991. ...

project.

Brickell Backyard

The north end of the line includes the Brickell Backyard. The Brickell Backyard is an urban park along The Underline that includes the Typoe Sculpture Garden, a sound stage plaza, Urban Gym with basketball court, workout stations, and a track, as well as butterfly gardens with native plants that surround gathering spaces.

History

The Underline's predecessor, the MetroPath (M-Path), was mostly built along with the Metrorail and opened in 1984. This segment of the Metrorail was built along the former right of way of the

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a pr ...

's main line between Miami and Kendall, which was abandoned in 1972 and purchased by

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

in 1979. The M-Path has been popular among cyclists, some of whom use it to commute to and from downtown, as well as runners. In late 2011, the MetroPath was extended and a bridge was added over the freeway style entrance to the

Snapper Creek Expressway Snapper(s) may refer to: Animals * Lutjanidae, a family of fish known as snappers **''Lutjanus campechanus'', a fish found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast of the United States ** Bigeye snapper (''Lutjanus lutjanus''), a fish that p ...

(S.R. 878) near Dadeland North station to complete the M-Path with the exception of a few small breaks at major road crossings such as near the north end at

Coral Way Coral Way is a neighborhood within Miami, Florida that is defined by Coral Way, a road established by Coral Gables founder George E. Merrick during the 1920s. It is located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The Coral Way neighborhood is served by ...

(SW 13 Street) in

and the

Douglas Road The Douglas Road, a.k.a. the Lillooet Trail, Harrison Trail or Lakes Route, was a goldrush-era transportation route from the British Columbia Coast to the Interior (NB another route known as the Lillooet Trail was the Lillooet Cattle Trail, which ...

area around

Bird Road Bird Road, co-signed State Road 976 (SR 976) from the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (SR 821) in Westwood Lakes, Florida to U.S. Route 1 ( SR 5) in Miami, is a main east–west road running south of downtown Miami in Miami-Dade County ...

Coral Gables Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the U ...

. In 2014, plans were made to revamp the M-Path as a

, taking after the popular

High Line The High Line is a elevated park, elevated linear park, greenway (landscape), greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the West Side (Manhattan), west side of Manhattan in New York City. The High Line's ...

in New York City, by a group known as "Friends of the GreenLink. The

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

assisted in the procurement of the idea. Into 2015, led by founder Meg Daly, the proposal gained momentum and rebranded itself as riends of"The Underline". Actual design work was done by

James Corner James Corner (born 1961) is a landscape architect and theorist whose works exhibit a focus on "developing innovative approaches toward landscape architectural design and urbanism." His designs of note include Fresh Kills Park on Staten Island and th ...

, and the project was recognized by the county.

References

External links

The Underline
{{Greater Miami Hiking trails in Florida Rail trails in Florida Rails with trails Bike paths in Florida Tourist attractions in Miami Transportation in Miami